


"w* 



\ 



.0^ 



-oV*^ . 



















<> « - -11 








































•, '^^0^ i. 



I 



/a 



K 



FLASHLIGHTS 



BY 
MARGARET BABCOCK 




BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 

1917 






CoPYHIGHT, 1917 

Shermak, French 6» Company 

©CI.A479830 



TO 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I Have No Choice .,.,.,. i 

The Love Divine 2 

The Dreary Earth 3 

The Phantom Ship 4 

The March Triumphant 5 

Mortality and Immortality .... 6 

The Life Immortal 7 

The Dunes 8 

The Consciousness of God 9 

In the Light of Truth 10 

Certainty 11 

Separation 12 

Ever Upward 13 

Moods 14 

Moods 15 

Doing Good 16 

Solemnity 17 

Shadows 18 

In Harmony with God 19 

Aid from on High 20 

Enemies 21 

Pass On the Smile 22 

To Those in Darkness 23 

Sweetly Human 24 

Inside the Cup 25 

When We are Afraid 26 

Tenderness 27 

Salvation 28 

Conscience 29 

Adversity 30 

A Question 31 

Great Wealth 32 

Work 33 

Sometimes 34 



PAGE 

More 35 

Kindness 36 

Criticism 37 

Work and Play 38 

Deceit 39 

The Power of Cheer 40 

Common Things 41 

Be Not Afraid 42 

Do Not Fear 43 

Singing After Rain . 44 

A Prayer 45 

The Law of Love 46 

Needs 47 

Sunshine After Storm 48 

For Thee 49 

The Truth that Setteth Free ... 50 

My Heart's Best Love 51 

Freedom 52 

Forgiveness . 53 

Praising God 54 

To-day 55 

Pave Your Way with Smiles .... 56 

As Passes the Storm 57 

The Mind that was in Christ .... 58 

The Power of Love . 59 

Not for Fame 60 

Which? 61 

It Seems to Me 62 

My Electric Fan 63 

The Language of Love 64 

Work, for the Night Cometh .... 65 

Greed and Hate 66 

Heaven 67 

Faults 68 

Wishes 69 

Peace .70 

Right and Wrong 71 



PAGE 

Jesus Triumphant ^72 

On Earth Good Will 73 

The Divine Accountant 75 

Understanding 76 

Good Thoughts . 77 

Another Day 78 

Laughter ,,.... 79 

A Saint 80 

Good Cheer . 81 

" I Am with You " 82 

The Goodly Earth .83 

Working Hands 84 

A Beauty Thought 85 

Learning from Nature 86 

Cheerful Depression 87 

To A Dying Rose 88 

Again and Again . 89 

Good 90 

The Splendid Future 91 

Life 92 

Sacred Love 93 

Profane Love 94 

Our Thoughts 95 

Life Eternal 96 

Gentleness 97 

Failure and Success 98 

A Noble Painting 99 

The Great Lesson 100 

Love's Measurements loi 

The Spiritual Life 102 

Man's Inhumanity to Man .... 103 

Justice 104 

Forgiveness 105 

Our Troubles 106 

Beautiful Thoughts 107 

Helpfulness 108 

The Divine Immanence 109 



PAGE 

Looking Backward no 

Reversal in 

Love 112 

Money 113 

No Matter 114 

Fat and Contented 115 

Forgiveness 116 

Good IS All 117 

Follow THE Gleam 118 

Life Divine 119 

The Task 120 

Christianity 121 

Gentleness 122 

Tranquillity 123 

The Faith of a Child 124 

Silence 125 

To My Enemy 126 

Simplicity 127 

Transformation 128 

Our Faith 129 



I HAVE NO CHOICE 

I HAVE no choice : 

I must express 

In clay or verse or song; 

I must rejoice, 

And try to bless 

And help the moving throng. 

God telleth me 

To work for Him, 

To spread the joyful news 

That men are free ; 

The image grim 

Of Satan they must lose. 

*Tis why by song 

Or verse or clay 

I would proclaim the way; 

In righting wrong 

Perhaps I may 

Reveal a brighter day. 



[1] 



THE LOVE DIVINE 

A LOVELY white flower 

Blooms down by a gate 

Where rubbish and refuse abound, — 

So, in the midst of malice and hate 

The divine spark of love 

May be found! 

When the dark shadows of malice and hate 

Swamp with miasma of fear, 

Think of the flower blooming down by the 

^ gate, — 
Think of God's love, near and dear! 

Love that knows no venomous hate, 
Love that knows only love ! 
Think of the flower, then patiently wait 
Till you dwell in the presence above ! 



[2] 



THE DREARY EARTH 

The crescent moon, 
And the stars above, 
Look down on an earth 
That is dreary. 

Has it forgotten 
The power of love 
.To succor and solace 
The weary? 



[3] 



THE PHANTOM SHIP 

Towering up like a ship in anguish 
Looms the error in our thought, 
Taking form and shape and motion 
Till 'tis found that it is naught. 

Phantom ship, unreal and shapeless, 
Riding on a phantom sea, 
Mocking sight and sound and senses,- 
Trying hard to deluge me. 

But we need not fear a phantom — 
Through the dark and murky fog. 
Through the blackness and the mist, 
That the shining way would clog 

Shines the sun, the beaming beacon. 
Lighting all the trembling way, — 
Turning sadness into gladness. 
Turning darkness into day. 



[4] 



THE MARCH TRIUMPHANT 

Is there not a choir invisible 
Binding every heart to heart, 
All the peoples of all nations 
In life's drama taking part? 

Is there not a song unsoundable 
On the lips of all the throng, 
Who with steady movement forward 
In glad unison march along? 



[5] 



MORTALITY AND IMMORTALITY 

Men, women, children; 
Children, women, men; 

The wheel revolves, 
A race dissolves; 

Another begun. 
Another run; 

The wheel goes round: 
The end of man is a mound. 



[6] 



THE LIFE IMMORTAL 

This the mortal side of life; 
Life immortal ended strife. 

Life immortal, peace and hope, — 
Naught but love with which to cope. 

Bliss celestial, bliss supreme, — 
Love divine the only theme. 



[7] 



THE DUNES 

I SOMETIMES long 

For the nook out there 

Where we went 

One early day of spring, — 

Where the lake is blue 

And I went with you, 

Where the birds just sing and sing! 

So very near to nature's heart, 

It seems to me 

'Tis set apart 

To bring back joy to every heart 

And gladden everything. 

Compare a perfect spot like this 
With battle field of war, — 
Twittering of the little birds 
With cannons' awful roar. 

The one is heaven, the other hell; 
One glance alone enough to tell 
That war should be no more. 



[8] 



THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF GOD 

In all Thy works Thy hand we trace : 
Make me to know that this is so ; 
Make me to feel Thy presence sweet; 
Make me to show wherever I go 
Unending love to all I greet. 



[9] 



IN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH 

In the luminous light of effulgent truth 
We increase our sight and regain our youth, 
And the sombre hues of evil and sin 
Transparent become, as they ever have been. 
With its rays turned on as a searchlight to 

sin. 
In the light of truth they are colorless quite, 
Grow dim, and at last fade from sight. 



[10] 



CERTAINTY 

As surely as rivers run down to the sea, 
As sinners and saints do disagree, 
As surely as sun and its maker are one, — 
So surely will right come to me. 

As surely as day makes dark take flight. 
As surely as sunlight dispels the night. 
As sure as the rose ne'er its secrets dis- 
close, — 
So surely will I reach the height. 



[11] 



SEPARATION 

It sometimes seems so strange, ma cherc, 
To dwell apart from thee; 
If we could* live just as we were, — 
But this may never be. 

The hours I spend so different seem 
From all that's gone before; 
And so I sometimes fondly dream 
The future has in store 

Still brighter times, a happier day, 
Than ever came before. 
And if it doesn't, why then, I say 
Our fate I will deplore. 



[i«] 



EVER UPWARD 

From height to height 
Is the swallow's flight, 

Toward the light 
Till out of sight; — 

Thus he who follows 
What is right. 



[13] 



MOODS 

The sea and I are lonely, 

Lonely as we can be ! 
That's what the sea in its moaning 

Is always telling me. 

Restless, the sea, and hungry I 
Hungry and satisfied not; 

For all the world can give it 
Adds to its lonely lot. 

Deep in its emerald bosom 
Is a force that never saves; 

All that becomes engulfed there 
Is swallowed up by the waves. 

And the sea and I are lonely 

For that which the world gives not ! 

Shall the sea and I be satisfied 

When the world shall be but a blot? 



[U] 



MOODS 

The sea and I are happy, 
Happy as we can be I 
That's what the sea in Its murmuring 
Is always telling me ! 

Peaceful, the sea, and contented; 

For the world disturbs it not. 

It knows it can never rob it 

Of the treasures with which it is fraught. 

Happy am I, — contented; 

Happy because I live, 

And know of the priceless treasure 

Which the world cannot take nor give ! 

Deep in its emerald bosom 

Lies treasure-trove untold. 

Which may be compared to the story — 

The story — old — old — old I 



[15] 



DOING GOOD 

If It's right for you to do it, 

Don't you know there's interest to it? 

And you'll get it, oh, so many, many fold; 

For the joy of doing good 

Is not nearly understood, 

And the half of it has never yet been told. 



[16] 



SOLEMNITY 

The earth is still and solemn 
Under its mantle of snow; 
Profound and deep its reverle,- 
Too deep for mortals to know. 



[17] 



SHADOWS 

Vainly we fight with shadows — 
Shadows of hate and fear I 
Vanishing bubbles — nothings — 
That would put the world out of gear! 

Evil since the beginning, 
Is always devoid of power! 
'Tis Love that rules the universe, 
Though hate would have us cower. 

And shiver and shake with tremblings 
Which have no meaning at all. 
'Tis Love that rules the universe, 
And will make hate and evil fall! 



[18] 



IN HARMONY WITH GOD 

I CANNOT know a sinful act 
Or word or place or man, 

I can but know the divine Idea, 
As spiritual I am. . 

And as I cease to know all wrong, 
Materiality flees; 

The spiritual then unfolds to me, 
And life with God agrees. 



[19] 



AID FROM ON HIGH 

Know you not that man unaided 
WInketh not an eye, 
Lifteth not a single finger 
Howe'er so hard he try. 

All the best works of old masters 
Prove this simple fact: 
When God used them in His channels, 
Nothing then they lacked. 

Works of artists and great poets, 
Best that's ever done, 
Are reflections of His goodness, 
Piercing like the sun! 

Groove and niche and crack and crevice 
Of the human mind 
That is open to His bounty, — 
Every channel it can find. 



[20] 



ENEMIES 

Don't you suppose, 

When they oppose, 

A lesson may be learned? 

The Good Book states 

That while one hates 

The kingdom cannot be earned. 

When enemies oppose 

The soul in you grows — 

If you love instead of hate 

The experience dear 

Makes the way clear 

To enter the heavenly gate. 



[21] 



PASS ON THE SMILE 

Pass on the smile; 

'Tis worth the while : 

The world is too full of tears. 

Pass on the smile; 

'Twill lessen the trial, 

And lengthen and brighten the years. 



[22] 



TO THOSE IN DARKNESS 

God bless and help the many who 

(I would they were but few) 

Are in dark places kept: 

The prisoner in his dismal cell, 

Who waits to hear his own death knell 

And by no friend is wept; 

The miner underneath the ground, 
Where glint of sun may ne'er be found; 
The child shut out from all daylight. 
Who works and knows not childhood's right 

To starry things, naught is too bright 
To greet the eyes of childish sight. 
The one born sightless, so to be, — 
He may see more than the seeing see ! 

Bless the old whose dream of life Is told ! 
Destroy the ache that darkness seems to be, 
And make them know and plainly see 
That light, e'en as It filled the tomb of Christ, 
Fills all dark places with love unpriced. 



[23] 



SWEETLY HUMAN 

Just to be good; 

Not to be clever, 

Not to be famous or great. 

Good alone 

Avails at the end ; 

Good alone 

Conquers hate. 

Just to be simply, 

Unaffectedly kind; 

Just to be tender 

And sweet; 

Helping, not hindering. 

The world in its woe; 

Cheering each one 

Whom I meet. 



[24] 



INSIDE THE CUP 



Inside the cup 
Is shame and woe 

Which the innocent 
Cannot know. 



It breaks your will, 
It gives you pain, 

It lures you on 
To ruin and shame. 



Its contents lead 
To grim despair. 



Ere you touch it 
To your lip 

And from its hellish 



To hell 

And to the devil's Madness sip, 
lair. 



With merry toast 
You hold it high : 

Its sparkling glitter 
Is a lie. 



Dash it with force 
Unto the ground, 

For when you drink 
You will have found 



With promises 
Of gayest joy, 

It makes of you 
The devil's toy. 



The devil's imp, 
A grinning skull, 

The body deadened, 
A mind made dull. 



[85] 



WHEN WE ARE AFRAID 

There Is nothing on earth to cling to, 
For everything fails us but God — 
Father and mother, sister and brother, 
Relative and friend, sweetheart and lover, — 
None of these can give us aid 
When the crucial time comes, and we are 
afraid! 



[26] 



TENDERNESS 

The resonance of tenderness 
Rebounds, reacts, renews; 
Triumphantly it conquers all. 
And all of life imbues. 

A tender tone doth pierce the earth, 
Revolve, reverberate. 
And penetrate the heart of man 
With love inviolate. 

Echoing, re-echoing, 
Traversing time and space. 
The tender tones that Jesus spake 
Through centuries we trace. 

Be gentle, man; tones take wing 
And down the cycles ring. 
This gentleness the ages gone 
Will still be echoing. 



[27] 



SALVATION 

All hearts are bound together 
Through time beyond the grave; 
We cannot harm another soul 
And expect our own to save. 



[28] 



CONSCIENCE 

I HEAR a voice. Its murmurings 
Fail on my listening ears 
And evermore repeat themselves, 
Repeating through my tears. 

This voice the voice of conscience is. 
No sound can still its ring. 
Denied, confusion follows fast; 
Obeyed, the angels sing. 



[29] 



ADVERSITY 

The hurts 
Are the helps; 

The stings 
Are the wings 
Mounting to heaven; 

Adversity brings 
Better things, 
Affliction Is leaven. 

He sings 
Who clings 
To the rift 
In the mist! 



[30] 



A QUESTION 

Are we healing the sick and the sinful 

Through ouc knowledge of truth revealed? 

Think of the many who need It, 

The many who need to be healed. 

'Tis an old, old, old Injunction, 

But forever and ever new; 

And He meant, when He said it, He meant 

it,— 
He meant It for me and for you. 
Think what it means to be rescued 
From sin, sickness, sorrow, and woe, — 
What It means to be saved, to be ransomed. 
Does it seem too good to be so? 
" Greater works than these," said Jesus, 
" Greater works than these shall ye do. 
Because I go to the Father." 
Are we proving His words to be true ? 



[31] 



GREAT WEALTH 

'Tis great indeed to win a name, 
By laurel wreath be crowned with fame; 
'Tis great to win great wealth, renown, 
Thy children's children to hand down. 
'Tis greater far to conquer self, 
Thus conquering the greatest wealth, — 
A wealth that lasts beyond the grave, 
A wealth so great thy soul 'twill save. 



[32] 



WORK 

To work with hands 
And head and heart 

Is tQ do in life 
Your allotted part; 

To work with hands 
Sans head and heart 

Is life half lived, 
An ignoble part. 



[33] 



SOMETIMES 

Sometimes the hill seems very steep 
And I would fain sit down and weep I 

'Tis then that I must count my joys 
And struggle up upon my feet, 

And press right on with courage strong, — 
Knowing that right will conquer wrong! 

Sometimes my heart is lowly laid 
And all around, yea, all that's made 

Seems wickedly to condemn the right; 
And then I know that in God's sight 

No wrong will ever conquer right — 
And I press on with all my might! 

Sometimes I do not see the light. 

The lovely blossom the frost would blight, 

And all around seems darkest night, — 
Then Love shines through, and all is 
white ! 



[34] 



MORE 

More love the world Is needing 

More love than aught beside; 
More affection, more freely given, 

More for all, far and wide ! 
More kindness for the other, — 

Realizing each is a brother. 
More consideration given. 

Earth will be our heaven ! 



[35] 



KINDNESS 

Is there not enough of kindness 

To go all the way around? 
Must we buy it by the bushel, 

Pay so very much per pound, 
That we really aren^t able 

To give any when we meet 
To the many who are weary 

Who are passing on the street? 
Kindness costs no one a penny — 

And may anywhere be found! — 
Free as air ! — cheap as dirt 

That piles up to make the ground! 
Let us utilize it freely, 

Giving some to all we meet, 
Making life so much more sunny — 

Making life so very sweet! 



[36] 



CRITICISM 

You do not know the burden 
Of the one you criticize ; 

You may not face his hardships, 
Nor hear his silent cries 

For deliverance from sore trials 
Which are heavy like your own.— 

Critic, close your lips, then, 
And for this sin atone I 



[37] 



WORK AND PLAY 

O work! Thou hast thy woes, 
As know full well those 
Who work from morn till night 
With will and main and might. 

O ease ! Thou hast thy sting, 
For on fast fleeting wing 
Contentment flies away, 
Nor will be coaxed to stay ! 

Could I control the day 
And have it the right way, 
I'd halve the hours in two 
And work I'd give to you 
One half the precious time, — 
One half, O leisure ! thine. 



[38] 



DECEIT 

Oh, the frauds, the miserable frauds! 
Oh, the delusions, the snares ! 
So many are they that, O ye gods, 
Each must of the other take care. 

Why not be honest and upright and true, 

Bold to defend the right? 

I think in the end 'twould pay better, don't 

you, 
To turn on injustice the light? 

Who has the courage these frauds to expose, 
To denounce their right to exist? 
All hail, and God's blessing forever on those 
Whose names swell this all too short list. 



im 



THE POWER OF CHEER 

The power of cheer is greater far 
Than anyone doth guess; 
And may it ever greater grow, 
And nevermore grow less. 



[40] 



COMMON THINGS 

Despise not common things; 
Their use is manifold. 
'Twas by things common 
That Christ His story told. 
Love the common and the rare, — 
God made them all; and do we dare 
Repulse His work, small or great? 
Nothing here was made to hate I 



[«] 



BE NOT AFRAID 

Be not afraid 

If you're right; 

The very power that made 

Day and night 

Helps you down every wrong 

With triumphant song. 

It is helping you along 

If youVe right ! 

Be not dismayed 

If you're right; 

The very power that made 

Heaven and earth 

Keeps you proving what you're worth 

And with triumphant song, 

It is helping you along 

In the right! 



im 



DO NOT FEAR 

Though clouds bedim the sight, 
Soon you'll see the daybreak; 
'Tis not always night. 
Trust, and He will guide thee. 
The Lord thy God is here. 
Thy Saviour is .beside thee; 
Trust and do not fear! 



[43] 



SINGING AFTER RAIN 

Is the little bird sad in the dismal rain? 
And is he glad when the sun shines again? 
With drooping wing does he sit on the eave, 
Feeling self pity, do you believe? 

*' The trees are wet, oh, dear, oh, dear! 
Oh my, oh my ! I very much fear 
It will rain all day; it has come to stay.*' 
Does he talk like that? Does he grumble 
and fret 

Because it is sticky and cold and wet? 
Or does he think: " It is raining now. 
So I'll drop my wing and sit on the bow 
Till the sun shines again. — When it stops, 

why, then — 
I'll sing still louder than before the rain; 
I'll sing and sing with might and main ! '* 



[44] 



A PRAYER 

Take me out of my sordid self; 
Teach me where to find true wealth; 
Govern me with Thy gentle ways 
All my nights and all my days. 



[45] 



THE LAW OF LOVE 

If you harm not 

In thought, word or deed, — 

Instead of the weed 

Will spring up the palm, 

Instead of the creed 

You'll find love's healing balm. 

God's perfect child 

Must fulfill the law, 

The living law of love, — 

Which worketh no harm. 

Like the Perfect One 

Who reigneth below and above ! 



[46] 



NEEDS 

More than we need dollars and cents, 
More than we need our food. 
All need here, as all go hence, 
A truer thought of God. 

God's not a man upon a throne 
Away up in the clouds ; 
God is here now, the tenderest love, 
Which all of us enshrouds. 

There'd be no war if people knew 
What and where is God; 
All would walk in the narrow way. 
The path the Master trod ! 



[47] 



SUNSHINE AFTER STORM 

Here or there, — 
What matters where 
Our barque be cast adrift, 

If God is here 
And over there 
The clouds will surely lift. 



[48] 



FOR THEE 

True verse comes to the minds of men, 

And comes from an unseen source. 

It springs into life, is born, and then 

True thought is given force. 

If It bring to the heart the grace and love 

Of the Heavenly One above. 

If It bear sweet witness of this mind, 

Then In it the truth we find; 

If an impulse to write a line 

By holy guidance Is led, 

The writing then is God's, not thine; 

If ideas by Him are fed. 

Repress not desire to write for Him. 

His thought, expressed by you, 

Brings here below the new old truth; 

And if those who hear it are few, 

One veriest mite of heavenly light 

More needed is than all 

That sages say or think or write. 

If sages heed not the call 

To write for God. My solemn prayer. 

To express his mind so fair. 

To tell of life and truth and love 

For Him, the Father above ; 

And In the night, when thoughts are white, 

If comes the heavenly light, 

Because I must do good In his sight 

I'll write and write and write. 

[49] 



THE TRUTH THAT SETTETH 
FREE 

The woes of today are the joys of tomor- 
row. 
Remember this, sufferer, whatever they be; 
'Twill help you to bear each passing sorow; 
This is the truth that setteth free. 



[50] 



MY HEART'S BEST LOVE 

Through all time, to all whoVe lived, 
Who are living, and will ever live, 
My heart's best love to all I give; 
And they give of their best to me, — 
And this is living, God, to Thee I 
'Tis the solemn hush of love, 
Eternal life, with God above. 
Angels hover in the air. 
Angel thoughts are everywhere, — 
Thoughts winged to think with God, 
Knowing naught of earth and sod! 



[51] 



FREEDOM 

Of all good things that come to me 

I like my freedom best! 
When it is mine, 'tis then I know 

That I am truly blest ! 

No other thing in all the world 

So precious is to me 
As freedom of mind and heart and head — 

Freedom to think and be ! 

Undisturbed by grosser minds 
I go — in thought — up to God, 

Leaving the earth and its sordid grinds, 
Leaving the earth and sod! 

I go In thought to a perfect world, 
A thought world — of my own — 

Which I shall find so beautiful 
When I have this one outgrown! 

A world of peace and purity, 

A world of perfect joy, 
A world of freedom — the world above — 

The world which we cannot destroy ! 



[52] 



FORGIVENESS 

If hate should snatch my raiment, 
My comfort, and my fare, 

I could have the consciousness 
That I could still forbear. 

If yet It took my life away 
And all by which I live, 

I still could have perception 
That I could still forgive. 



[63] 



PRAISING GOD 

Do you think a tree Is lonely? 

That a tree is ever sad? 
Little leaves, I hear you murmur: 

" We are always, always glad! 

*' Constantly we seek the sunshine. 
And we hve a life of praise. 
And we understand God's ways." 

Do you think the stars are lonely? 

That the stars are ever sad? 
Little stars, I hear you murmur : 

" We are always, always glad! " 

Thus throughout the whole of nature, 
Stars and sky and all the rest. 

All with each are ever vying. 

Trying which may praise Him best I 

But we people, O we people! 
Stars and sky forever try, — 
Why do we, then, pass Him by? 



[64] 



TO-DAY 

To-day Is the day to help each other ; 
To-day is the day to love our brother; 
To-day — of all days — Is the day to do 

good, — 
The very day that every one should ; 
To-day Is the day to just be glad; 
To-day Is the day to stop being sad; 
'TIs the very day to be sunny and bright, 
To shut out the dark and let in the light. 



[55] 



PAVE YOUR WAY WITH SMILES 

Pave your way with smiles, my dear; 
Learn to be brave and the way will clear. 
The Father of all Is always near; 
Why should the day be dismal and drear? 

Live to help others who are needing it quite 
As much as yourself, who have seen the 

light; 
Groping about in the darkness of night. 
Who Is to show them the wrong from the 

right ? 

Pave your way with smiles, my dear; 
Learn to be brave and the way will be clear. 
Press firmly on and never fear; 
The Father of all is always here. 



[66] 



AS PASSES THE STORM 

As the wind when day is dreary 
Moans and sobs and tears the tree, 
So do appetite and passion 
Moan and sob and conquer thee. 

Wind is still, the day grows lighter; 
God the storm hath caused to cease ; 
So — thy life grows brighter, brighter. 
Overflowing now with peace. 



[57] 



THE MIND THAT WAS IN 
CHRIST 

A DIFFERENT kind of mind 
The Saviour said to find; 
The mind which was in Him 
Is the mind with which to win, — 
The mind that knows no hate, 
No pain, nor death, nor sin: 
This mind we must possess. 
No sorrow, pain, nor stress 
Can rob us of this mind. 
Children, seek and find! 



[58] 



THE POWER OF LOVE 

No human words are strong enough 
To tell of the power of love, — 
The power that moves the universe, 
That comes from God above. 

The power that whirls worlds around, — 
What is it? Where is it found? 
The self same love God said to show 
Each to the other here below! 

Foolish 'tis to try to oppose 
A power so great that a world it throws 
Whirling through space like a bubble. 
This is the cause of all our trouble. 



[59] 



NOT FOR FAME 

Not for praise or adulation 

From name or nation, state or station, 

Would I wield my pen ; 

Not for fame or adoration, 
Nor again for approbation, 
But to help my fellow men I 



[60] 



WHICH? 

Which, think you, is the world run by? 

Love or hate? 
How, think you, have we come by 

A world so great? 
Is it hate that shines in the sun? 
Is it hate, when the day is done, 

That brings the stars? 
Is it hate that makes bowers of flowers? 

That causes the planets to keep 
their course? 

Is hate the force? 
Which, if you had the power of the One 
above 

Would YOU create, love or hate? 



[61] 



IT SEEMS TO ME 

It seems to me the eyes that have looked 

On hellish scenes of war 
Must wear expression strangely sad, 

With all crushed out that makes one glad I 

It seems to me in order to forget 

Crimes committed by men, 
These eyes must look to heavenly things 

For the comfort that it brings! 

It seems to me in no other way 

Can one forget such crime, — 
That it can only be effaced 

By God and Love and Time ! 



[63] 



MY ELECTRIC FAN 

Kindness and good will are cooling, 
Like ice distilling the air. 

Turn on the fan of kindness ; 
Dispense it everywhere. 

Put out the fire of hatred; 
Turn on the kindness fan,— 

The atmosphere made cooler 
By kindness of man to man ! 



[6S] 



THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE 

There is a language vibrant, 
A language of the heart, — 
The whole big world can speak it, 
'Tis of the world a part. 

'Tis not the cultured scholar 
Who knows and speaks it best; 
'Tis easily translated 
And spoken by the rest. 

The Master came to teach us 
This language from above; 
'Tis thus that He would reach us 
With the language of love. 



[64] 



WORK, FOR THE NIGHT COMETH 

We've a work to do, my brother, 
For ourselves and for each other, 

Ere the spiritual kingdom's come. 
Ere the heavenly kingdom's won. 

To purify each thought and deed, 
Patiently destroy each weed, 

Ceaselessly we all must work. 
Knowing that we cannot shirk. 



[65] 



GREED AND HATE 

Greed and hate are negations 
Equivalent to nothing at all, 
Not to be found in equations 
Since the time of Adam's fall. 

Multiply them by ten, 
Add as much as you will, 
Multiply them again. 
And keep doing this until 
The end of time, — and still. 

Still nothing remains 
After all your pains. 
For God is all 
Till time wanes! 



[66] 



HEAVEN 

Our heaven is within us; 
No need to go away; 
Sweet thoughts in us may win us 
A heaven any day. 



[67] 



FAULTS 

God close my eyes to faults in others; 
Open them to my own. 
Were they destroyed, for thee, my brother, 
I might still many a moan ! 

Hush many sobs, quench many tears, 
Disprove forever many fears! 
God close my eyes when others err; 
At my own faults may I demur ! 



[68] 



WISHES 

I WISH that I were great enough 

To take the world in my arms; 

I'd rock it to sleep 

And watch o'er it keep, 

And take away all that harms. 

I wish that I could mitigate 
Its sorrow and its care ; 
I'd like to give it happiness, 
Happiness everywhere! 

I wish that I could take away 

Its curses, wars and crimes; 

And oh, don't you know, 

If in wisdom we grow 

Our wishes come true sometimes I 



[69] 



PEACE 

I AM at peace, 

Though the storm be fierce 

And the lightning flash and pierce; 

I am at peace 

And on the height, 

For the storm will cease 

And the morning light 

Be bright. 



[70] 



RIGHT AND WRONG 

That which is right 

Always heals 

That which is wrong. 

That which Is wrong 

Always feels 

That which is right. 

Daylight and night, 
Right and wrong, 
Black and white. 
Wrong and right! 



[71] 



JESUS TRIUMPHANT 

Midst thorns and cross and Mary's tear 
The Saviour wrought His way, — 
Midst jeer and sneer and thrust of spear, 
From darkness unto day. 

He conquered all the world; the flesh, 
The devil overcame; 

He wrought His way through evil's mesh, 
His hands and side the same. 

After the grave, the spear, the nail. 
His mission did not fail. — 
Give power to good, and evil drear 
Can only disappear. 



[72] 



ON EARTH GOOD WILL 

War and gore, 
Shot and shell, 
Devil and hell: 

Peace, be still; 

On earth good will! 

Thou shalt not kill! 

Who can tell 
The suffering of 
The men that fell? 

Peace, be still; 
On earth good will 
Thou shalt not kill! 

Powder's smell, 
Funeral knell, 
TolHng bell: 

Peace, be still; 

On earth good will 

Thou shalt not kill I 

Homes bereft, 
Families left. 
Heartstrings cleft: 

[73] 



Peace, be still; 
On earth good will 
Thou shalt not kill! 



[74] 



THE DIVINE ACCOUNTANT 

The things you say 
And the things you do 
Are every one 
Charged up to you. 

And God above 
Keeps the account, 
And He alone 
Knows the amount 

Of good you do 
And good you say: 
He strikes a balance 
Every day. 



[75] 



UNDERSTANDING 

Good 

Could 

Be understood 

If we would 

Study it. 

The realm of mind 
Is not hard to find 
If we would not 
Muddy it. 



[76] 



GOOD THOUGHTS 

DoN*T keep good thoughts In cold storage ; 

Let them blossom, teach and preach ! 
Out In the world you will find thought 

That your good thought will reach ! 

Don't keep good thoughts In cold storage, 

To be used at a future time ! 
The world now Is waiting 

For thought that will stop Its hating! 

'Tis only good thoughts that can conquer 

Man's inclination to war! 
Let them bud and bloom and blossom 

Till war shall be no more ! 



[77] 



ANOTHER DAY 

Another day: what will it bring? 
Will I sigh or will I sing? 
Rests it with me this day to make 
Glad indeed for the whole world's sake. 



[78] 



LAUGHTER 

I WANT to laugh as much as I can 
As I go through this vale of tears; 
Groans and moans, sighs and cries, 
Accentuate our years. 

I have heard it said that a single laugh 
Is worth a hundred groans; 
Here's to the jolly who love fun and folly,- 
May laughter rattle their bones I 



[79] 



A SAINT 

To do your duty, though berated; 

To show good will when you are hated; 

To gtt no thanks though you've waited, 

To ill luck though you are fated, 

And in Bradstreet's you are not rated, 

And your bills are elongated, 

And your clothes are antiquated. 

To do your duty and get berated, 
As before it has been stated, — 
Is to be a saint unantedated, — 
Going to heaven double gaited. 



[80] 



GOOD CHEER 

Always I would dispense 
Sweet hope and sunny cheer; 
These to all, as all go hence, 
Are evermore most dear. 

As well extinguish light 
As cheer and sweetest hope. 
Would every one were bright, 
As blindly here we grope. 



[81] 



" I AM WITH YOU " 

Is there surcease for the sorrowing? 
Is there gladness for the sad? 
All our troubles are we borrowing? 
May we evermore be glad? 

Is there joy for heavy laden, 
Rest for weary, peace for pain. 
Health for sickness? Ah, yes, dearie,- 
Jesus' love doth never wane ! 

*' I am with you," thus said Jesus; 
" E'en until the great world ends, 
I am with you." Thus he said it, — 
Meaning good, just good, God sends. 



[82] 



THE GOODLY EARTH 

Is it true that earth primarily was meant 
To reflect the good by the good God sent? 

How mournfully sad, then, to let creep in 
Sickness and sorrow, disease and sin. 

May we not bad conditions forever con- 
trol, — 
Rule them out by Truth, Love and Soul ? 



[83] 



WORKING HANDS 

Tales they tell of cruel fate, 
Selfishness and greed and hate, — 
Kindnesses unsaid, unthought, — 
Vanities by heart's blood bought. 

God of tenderness and love, 
God of earth and heaven above. 
Thou dost heal each hurt and knock,- 
They are but Thyself forgot! 



[8*] 



A BEAUTY THOUGHT 

A BEAUTY thought may not be bought 
Like a box of paint and powder; 
My ladye fair had best beware, — 
A beauty thought speaks louder 
Of the mind within than the fairest skin 
Which sin and shame concealeth. 
A beauty thought, not sold nor bought, 
The mind of God revealeth. 



[85] 



LEARNING FROM NATURE 

I TURN away from a sinning man 
And look at a beautiful tree : — 
No manifestation of evil I see, 
And the sight Is rest to me. 

No manifestation of evil, 
No suppositional will, — 
Only the joy of living, 
With no disposition to kill; 

Only the joy of giving. 

Giving, and giving until 

Its life Is done, its course is run : — 

And a lesson for me is thus begun. 



[86] 



CHEEJ^FUL DEPRESSION 

I WANT to be peevish and crabbed and cross ; 

I want to give people goss; 

I want to be fretful and sad and alone ; 

I'm dying to pick a bone. 

I want to be miserable, dejected, depressed, 

Discouraged, discordant, forlorn, 

With melancholia to weep and to wail, — 

Sorry I ever was born. 

I want to be full of sniffles and sighs 

And sobs, and make others, too, 

Ur^happy, faint-hearted; 

Their agonized cries 

Help to keep me in a stew. 

Hysterics and wailing and weepy eyes 

Make me so happy, you see, — 

'Tis when indulging in long drawn out sighs 

That I real contented can be. 



[87] 



TO A DYING ROSE 

Droop, little rose, — must you droop and 
die? 

Your life was so short, — must you say good- 
bye? 

No one will stop, as there you lie. 

To pick you up — your life has gone by ! 

Yet the thoughts you caused and the sweet- 
ness you gave 

Will long outlast your petalled grave. 

Dear little rose, you have made me brave I 



[88] 



AGAIN AND AGAIN 

If we sin 
We must pay, 

As the night 
Follows day, — 

Pay in our quota 
Of pain! 

For the pleasure we get 
From the sin we forget. 

When the pain 

Shrieks again and again! 

The remedy, then. 
For the sons of men 

Is sinlessness. 
Purity and love. 

The father above 
Is waiting in love 

To forgive us 
Again and again! 



[89] 



GOOD 

How sweet is the power of good I 
Oh, that the people understood, — 

Listening and learning and loving it more, 
Trusting it always to open the door 

Into a realm that is fairer than this, — 
Into Utopia fraught with all bliss. 

Sweet is the power of good! 
Oh, that the people understood ! 



[90] 



THE SPLENDID FUTURE 

At morn we rise to try again; the night of 

rest is o'er. 
Another day, another chance, is tapping at 

the door. 
Another day, the best of all because its hours 

are ours, — 
And just beyond, with trumpet call, the 

splendid future towers. 

With trumpet call and beckoning hand 
It bids us leave the past. 
If we would dwell in beulah land 
And find a home at last. 



[91] 



LIFE 

To and fro, here and there, 

Now and then, come and go ; 

We know not when, we know not where,- 

We only know that this is so. 

Pain and pleasure, mingled here; 
First a smile, then a tear; 
Joy and gladness, sorrow, fear, — 
The end of all the gruesome bier. 



[92] 



SACRED LOVE 

Out of the maelstrom of evil 

Into the whirlpool of love, 

Always forestalling the devil 

With the lamb of peace and the dove. 



[93] 



PROFANE LOVE 

Enemy of God and all goodness, 
Friend of no man upon earth, 
Making a pretense of pleasure, 
Making a pretense of birth. 



[94] 



OUR THOUGHTS 

Adrift, apart, on mental seas, 

Each thinker dwells in thought; 

And whether he sink 

Or whether he swim 

Depends on what thought says to him. 

If thoughts are calm and pure and true, 
God's angels then do dwell with you; 
If wild and harsh and turbulent, 
Of this kind of thinking 
You must repent. 



[95] 



LIFE ETERNAL 

Ages come and roll away. 
'Tis but now another day. 
Days, weeks, months, years, 
Many births, many tears, 
Many hopes, many fears! 
Tears and laughter — sorrow, joy - 
Was life made but to destroy? 
Why call this life? Life Is divine; 
God Is your life, and God Is mine. 



[96] 



GENTLENESS 

Before me stretched a field of flowers, 
Far as the eye could reach; 
In wonderment I told myself 
That this is what they teach: 

The gentleness of tiny bud 

Of each and every flower 

Is the power that rules the universe, 

For gentleness is power! 



[97] 



FAILURE AND SUCCESS 

There are failures more nearly successes 

Than some successes so^alled 

And successful men — 

Nine out of ten — 

With their own successes are enthralled. 

Here's to successful failures 
That bring a man nearer to God; 
When success fails in this, 
The mark it must miss, — 
'Tis the greatest failure abroad. 



[98] 



A NOBLE PAINTING 

A NOBLE painting is a prayer, 
Full of truth and meaning; 
It lifts the mind from toil and care, 
And contradicts the seeming. 



[99] 



THE GREAT LESSON 

The life that helps not some other 
Means failure, existence ill spent; 
All lives to help each some brother 
On earth like the Master's were sent. 

Men's backs with terrible burdens, 
Visible, invisible, are bent; 
Helpfulness is the great lesson 
To teach which the Master meant. 



[100] 



LOVE'S MEASUREMENTS 

Deeper than the deepest depth, 
Higher than the highest height, 
Broader than the broadest breadth, 
Lighter than the lightest light. 
Wider than the widest arch. 
Longer than from March to March, 
Eternity doth measure 
So infinite a treasure. 



[101] 



THE SPIRITUAL LIFE 

How may one tire 

Of spiritual things, 

And the comfort and joy 

That the thought of them brings? 

Of the secret place, 

Understood by the few 

Who know the commandments 

And knowing them, do, — 

Who, doing them, know 

'Tis the only way 

To leave the dark night 

And enter the day. 

God's guidance and love 

Will ever sustain 

Through daylight and darkness, 

Through sunshine and rain. 



[102] 



MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN 

What is a wolf or a bear or a snake, 

Compared to man's enemy, man? 
They may put you to sleep to never awake, 

But the two-legged animal can 
Torture you through countless years. 
Make you shed buckets and buckets of tears. 
Make your heart ache and your nerves 

quake ; 
Compared to a wolf or a snake or a bear. 
The two-legged animal knows how to get 
there. 



[103] 



JUSTICE 

The hues of a beautiful sunset 
Reflect the beatitudes; 
Bespeak they peaceful blessedness, — 
These varying tints and moods. 

The lines of a glorious landscape 
Reflect the Word on the mount; 
Bespeak they joyous righteousness,— 
God's everlasting fount. 

As in a mighty landscape 
The high lights balance the shade, — 
So justice balances lawlessness; 
Justice God hath bade. 



[104] 



FORGIVENESS 

If a friend Is false and betrays a trust,- 
If you win forgive, forgiveness must 
Destroy resentment In your soul, 
And eventually save from the dust. 



[105] 



OUR TROUBLES 

Our troubles are none of them real; 
Our moaning, our cries and our sighs, 
The sorrows we needlessly feel, 
Are myths to the heavenly wise. 
No pain and no sorrow in good; 
No anguish, no multiplied tears 
In God, who is good understood. 
Unreal, all our fanciful fears. 



[106] 



BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS 

Beautiful similes are given of God; 
Beautiful mind fills the air, 
Purified, rarified, glorified, clarified, 
Filling all space everywhere. 

E'en as a honey bird culleth a flower. 
Choose ye the thoughts ye would think 
Weave ye a garland, dwell in a bower 
Where angels might sup and drink. 



[107] 



HELPFULNESS 

Help, don't hinder. 

Each living soul 

His burden has to bear. 

You will the sooner 

Reach the goal 

By lessening all care. 

By adding to your brother*s task 

You are lengthening your own. 

The Father, then, doth simply ask 

That helpfulness be shown. 



[108] 



THE DIVINE IMMANENCE 

God is not a far off creature 

Away up In the sky I 
God Is here — In our very breathing, 

In each tear and cry! 

Groans are stopped when He Is heeded, 

Moans and every tear; 
Tell me not He Is not needed 

By His children here ! 



[109] 



LOOKING BACKWARD 

It seems to me as I look back on my life 
And sum up its joys as well as the strife, — 
It seems to me that now I find 

That I haven't been one half as kind 
As I might have been to my fellow men I 

God help me to help them, to try again 
To be cheerful and bright, sunny and 
sweet — 
God help me to help them, as here we 
meet. 



[110] 



REVERSAL 

Possessions 
Give no right 
To trample 
Down your kind; 
In the race 
Heavenward 
You'll find 
Yourself behind, 
With faltering step 
And many a tear 
Caused and shed. 
If you expect 
To win your cause 
By trampling on 
Eternal laws, 
You will at last 
Bring up the rear. 
If on others you tread, 
God will not let you 
Go ahead. 



[Ill] 



LOVE 

Love is the keynote 
Of existence, 
And nothing availeth 
Resistance. 

To this power strong 
As eternity long 
Nothing availeth 
Resistance. 

It knocks at each heart 

With insistence ; 

It pleads with a song 

And it never is wrong, 

And nothing availeth 

Resistance. 



[112] 



MONEY 

A BIT of paper colored green 

Makes men cowardly and mean. 

Tradition says this paper is power 

For which men needs must cringe and cower. 

Mistakes of men, idolatry! 

If God is power, 'tis mimicry 

To give to paper power above 

The only power, the power of love ! 



[113] 



NO MATTER 

Ah, God Is all, — God Is all, — 

No matter what the seeming; 

His love throughout the clouds of sense 

Forever more is beaming. 

It penetrates the greatest wrong, 

Through harshest noise he hears a song, 

Who knows that evil lasts not long. 

No matter If it's screaming I 



[IM] 



FAT AND CONTENTED 

A LESSON I am learning, the biggest one as 

yet: 
'Tis how to be contented although I am in 

debt. 
My houses are unrented, so also is my flat. 
Some folks would be demented, and yet I'm 

growing fat. 
I will not be unhappy although my hens 

won't set; 
I better times have scented and I refuse to 

fret. 



[115] 



FORGIVENESS ^ 

E'en as I would be forgiven, 
So forgive I thee 
Every sin, without, within, 
As God forgiveth me. 

Nor need I expect forgiveness, 
If I forgive not thee. 
Every sin, without, within. 
As God forgiveth me. 



[116] 



GOOD IS ALL 

Sin would lift Its hydra head 

And claim itself to be 

The power that rules the unlverse,- 

The power that ruleth me. 

Lie of lies ! No sin o'er him 

Surveillance hath or sway 

Who chooseth good to be his all, 

Who walketh in God's way. 

If Good is all, then where is bad? 

There is not more than all. 

The sick, the sinning, and the sad 

Are myths since Adam's fall. 



[117] 



FOLLOW THE GLEAM 

Follow the gleam. 

Obstacles 

Seem; 

The gleam 

Alone 

Is real. 

The highest 

In you 

Is all 

That's true ; 

The highest 

That you feel, 

The best 

You know, 

Is all 

That's so. 

No standard 

Is too high; 

Actions low 

Overthrow. 

Give Satan 

The lie I 



[118] 



LIFE DIVINE 

Ages come and roll away. 
'Tis but now another day, — 
Days, weeks, months, years, 
Many births, many tears. 
Many hopes, many fears; 
Tears, laughter, sorrow, joy, — 
Was life made just to destroy? 

Why call this life ? Life is divine. 
God is your life, and God is mine. 



[119] 



THE TASK 

Let all work in unison 
In doing your work, — 
Head, heart and hands; 
Nor think you to shirk 
Divine expression. 
Is it a well-done task? 
And what does the Father 
Of each of us ask? 
That over and over 
Our work shall be done, 
Till wrong Is effaced 
And perfection is won. 



[120] 



CHRISTIANITY 

'Tis just to love and love 
And love and love again, 
To love and love 
And love until the end ; 
For in this love 
We find there is no end. 
This love and love 
That heaven doth send 
Is whole and round, 
And strong enough 
The rocky tomb to rend. 



[121] 



GENTLENESS 

A TENDER tone 
Doth pierce the earth, 
Revolve, reverberate. 
And penetrate 
The heart of man 
With love 
Inviolate. 

Echoing 

Re-echoing, 

Traversing time and space, 

The tender tones 

That Jesus spake 

Through centuries 

We trace. 

Be gentle, man. 

Tones take wing 

And down the cycles ring; 

This gentleness 

The ages gone 

Will still 

Be echoing. 



[12^] 



TRANQUILLITY 

In the deepest depth of every breast 
The still thought rules the man; 
When passions roar and ride the crest, 
And angry billows do their best 
To overwhelm, still thoughts 
Arrest the storm, allay the waves. 
*Tis this tranquillity that saves. 



[123] 



THE FAITH OF A CHILD 

As a child I walk, dear Lord, 

With footsteps short and slow, 

Trusting Thee each step to guide 

Because I do not know 

As yet Thy will. 

But peace, be still,— 

I hear 

And know I need not fear. 



[lU] 



SILENCE 

Learn to keep still. 

The tongue and the will 

Are very dangerous things; 

Greater than famine 

And wars that kill 

Is the trouble talking brings. 



[125] 



TO MY ENEMY 



Already forgiven were you, dear one, 

Before you committed the fault — 

The fault which was never real, dear one, 

And so you see it is naught. 

Nor can it make me feel, dear one. 

Its sting, or to me bring 

One sad or solemn tear, dear one; 

It is not any thing! 



[126] 



SIMPLICITY 

When things go wrong 
And others vex, 
And life becomes 
Confused, complex, 
'Tis then our task 
To simplify; 
And if we 
Patiently 
But try, 

We may reduce 
Discord to naught 
By remembering 
What Jesus taught. 
Then peace will come 
With sheltering wing; 
About our task 
Again we'll sing. 



[1^7] 



TRANSFORMATION 

Had I the power I would alter the world; 
I would fill it full of song, 
And all the sons and daughters of men 
Would keep singing the whole day long. 
I would give to the sick exuberant health; 
To the poor I would give the greatest 

wealth; 
And everywhere throughout the air 
Would be music to banish care. 

I would take away the power to do wrong; 

The weak of the earth I would make power- 
ful and strong; 

And everywhere in the sweet-scented air, 

Sweet song would abound and resound. 

The perfume of plants our joys would en- 
hance. 

We would do what we should and not what 
we would. 

Hearts would be light, the world would look 
bright; 

There would be no minor tone, for discord 
would be unknown; 

The sweetest song would crush out the 
wrong. 



[128] 



OUR FAITH 

If things go wrong 

And worries come, 

What else to do 

But make the best of it? 

We cannot change 

The course of the sun, 

Moon and stars, 

And the rest of it. 

But smihng on 

Through storm and stress. 

Cheerfully 

We can do our best 

To lighten cares 

As we climb life's stairs. 

This is our faith, — 
And the zest of it. 



[129] 







o •^ Treatment Date: Oct. 2009 

PreservationTechnologies ^ 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 

Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 "^^ 

(724)779-2111 4 



